Author: nstidham

If you've been wanting a peek at Aphelion, now's your chance. I've uploaded a partial (i.e., unplayable but representative) version of the game at parenthesispress.itch.io/aphelion for interested viewers. Comments and feedback are welcome, but bear in mind, this is explicitly not the whole game, but a redacted version.

​I'm staying in, socially distanced, and continuing to work on projects - Aphelion being my main focus. Character generation has been coming along, and here's what it looks like right now: You draft tarot cards and assign them to your three major traits (Vocation, Drive, and Distinction). If you take an action that directly draws… Continue reading Checking in: Aphelion chargen development→

Jewel of the Sea continues to be a delight to work on, partly because going to my local board game meetup and playing Arkham Horror or Escape the Dark Castle counts as research. AH 3rd edition in particular has yielded lots of fruitful mechanics to mine. To start off, character creation via card selection allows… Continue reading Informing RPG design with board game mechanics→

I've been thinking a lot about horror gaming, and in particular about how I have yet to successfully design one. I've tried, but so far all I have to show for it is a cluster of folders of unfinished drafts and discarded mechanics. I think it's time to try again. Here's a rundown of what… Continue reading Aphelion (Far Future Horror RPG): Status Update→

Happy new year, and sorry for the long silence: I've been tinkering away on many different projects, meaning that each is moving proportionally slower than even my usual glacial pace. Here's what's up in terms of games I've talked about here: A Silence in Heaven has had a small beta update over at parenthesispress.itch.io; I'm… Continue reading A long overdue update→